Forever Enemies
by SilverSnowflake9798
Summary: They were enemies. That much they both figured out on their own. No treaty of any kind would be able to fix that in their minds. But if they weren't, would things have been different?


**Hi everybody! This is a Kouha+Pisti fic that was requested by** ** _Art Genius_** **. I don't really ship or know too much about this couple, so the stories probably not going to be the best. Set sometime after the big battle that hasn't actually started yet in the manga. A few spoilers. Anyway, hope you enjoy.**

"Oh great. It's HER again," Kouha huffed as he glanced over at the entourage walking through the hallway in their direction. Koumei looked up to see who his little brother was talking about. There were three of them, but luckily there was only one female, making it easy to pinpoint which one he was annoyed at.

Koumei shook his head at his brother. "Do keep calm. We are supposed to be cooperating with them. Glaring at them every time they pass won't do the Kou Empire any good in the treaty negotiations." Kouha knew this. He wanted nothing more than to do everything in his power to make things easier for his brother, who was probably negotiating as they spoke. But it bugged him that they HAD to have negotiations at all. Why couldn't they have just taken over like they normally did? Both sides were not fooled into thinking that the two of them would get along any time soon. It would take a miracle.

From the other side, the short one also made a face at the people they were getting closer to. "Can we PLEASE take another route?" Pisti begged to Spartos and Drakkon. Drakkon had already spotted the two of them, but unlike Pisti he showed no discomfort at it.

"There is no point Pisti. This is the quickest way to get to the throne room. We don't want to keep King Sinbad waiting." Pisti huffed, grumbling as she was forced to continue to walk the way that she had begun. King Sinbad was most likely going to be late since he was still in negotiations with Kou anyway. Why did they have to be in such a hurry?

Neither Pisti nor Kouha could believe what was happening. After years of tension and risks of war in between the two, even a few battles, Kou and Sindria were making a treaty. It had been Sinbad's idea, which surprised even Kouen. With the civil war that had started to break out, he might have been able to get what he wanted with Hakuryuu's help. But after the battle, both sides decided it would be best to come to some sort of compromise. As far as they had heard, Kou was going to be part of the Seven Seas alliance, but a few of their laws would be changed to help put peace between the two countries. In turn the seven seas alliance had to help revive Kou from the civil war and Kou would be allowed to choose when they went into battle or not. It was only the beginning and a very weak treaty, but it was a start. Some things were still being discussed.

The Sindrian generals walked past them, the Kou princes watching them closely. Drakkon and Spartos both nodded respectfully, Koumei doing the same. And while the others two knew there were others around them, Kouha and Pisti though kept their eyes trained on the other, distain running through each of them with every passing second. Someone could have shot them both dead and they wouldn't have noticed. All their attention was on the one across from them. Their enemy.

Instead of being respectful like their allies had, they decided to stick with the same routine that they always picked every time they saw each other. "Psychopath," she muttered under her breath, loud enough for everyone to hear. Koumei, Spartos and Drakkon all cringed, silently begging Kouha not to retort. They should have known better, looking at the way he clenched his fists.

"Short stack." Pisti stopped. Koumei couldn't help but let out a groan. _Here we go again,_ Spartos thought while giving Drakkon a look. Drakkon just shook his head.

Spinning around she stomped back over to Kouha who straightened as his face soured. Spartos and Drakkon followed reluctantly, both mumbling that they got enough of this from Yamu and Sharkkon. At least the two of them were allied. Pisti and Kouha didn't fight for pride, they fought out of hate. "What did you just say?" She scowled. Kouha crossed his arms, proud that he was able to stand over her.

"Nothing untrue, I assure you." Her eyebrows narrowed as she mimicked his pose. Spartos tried to stop a battle before it started.

Turning the attention to Koumei he said, "Prince Koumei, how are you?" Koumei gave a polite smile.

"Yes, today is fine. It's a nice day out," He said, referring to the sun out the windows. Spartos and Drakkon both nodded appreciatively, but Pisti used it as an opportunity to start the fight again.

"Really? It's always so cloudy here. At least Sindria has some kind of decent weather." Spartos looked horrified by her insult and shook his head at Koumei, hoping he wouldn't take it as offence. Koumei just waved his worries away, knowing her insults were directed at Kouha instead of the country.

Kouha didn't take her petty insult so lightly though. "Kou's weather is perfect. Here you don't have to worry about some silly little girls wanting nothing more in life then to get a tan come around here." Pisti bristled, while Koumei's heartrate started sprinting. There wasn't any point in trying to apologize to the generals since that was an insult directly aimed at Pisti.

She took it to heart, much to his dismay and Kouha's delight. _SILLY? LITTLE?_ "It's a good thing Sindria doesn't have to worry about weird violent psychopaths running around however. Better trade off if you ask me!" Kouha's teeth clenched. Spartos didn't bother to hide his sigh. _Here we go._

"Good the Kou isn't naïve and doesn't let strangers in all willy-nilly."

"Well Sindria isn't so uptight and strict like Kou is!"

"At least OUR King isn't a devious selfish jerk!" Drakkon tipped his head, unable to disagree with that.

"Well at least King Sinbad isn't a power-hungry stiff jerk trying to take over the world!" Spartos covered his face with his hands in exasperation, hoping Koumei would not take offence and tell Kouen. Koumei actually thought his brother would be amused if he saw his little brother going up against such a small girl like she was a monster in battle.

Almost yelling she argued, "Sindria is better than Kou in every way!" Spartos glanced over top Pisti and Koumei, shaking his head to let him know they didn't really feel that way. Koumei shrugged once again, starting to lose his patience for having to deal with his brother fight this one girl every time they saw each other.

"What does your country have that our country doesn't," Kouha growled. To their surprise, Pisti's scowl turned into a smirk. It was as if Pisti had been waiting for him to say just that.

"Well," She purred, "We have your cousin." Kouha caught his breath while the others around him gasped in surprise. Even the ones on Sindria's side had to admit that was a low blow.

Hakuei Ren was being sent to Sindria. Because she allied herself with Sindria during the battle, it only made sense that she would stay with them after as a representative of Kou. They needed someone to go there to keep the treaty strong, as was tradition in both countries. The only difference was that Kou's tradition said she had to be married to someone of the different country, but no one from Kou was reminding anyone of that. In Sindria it wasn't a requirement for someone from another country to come there, but since so many of the generals were in that situation it would publically as well as personally helped strengthen ties if Hakuei joined the ranks as one of their generals. That was the people would see they trusted her enough to join them, and she would begin to make friends with the generals which may make things easier. Sinbad had been unsatisfied with the fact that instead of letting the Kouga people come to Sindria, they were given their own land to live on and would only be called upon when the need arrived. But he had gotten one of Kou's dungeon capturer's, and he'd seemed satisfied with that.

Koumei had secretly been thankful that Hakuei was going to Sindria. After siding with her brother Hakuryuu, he knew that the court would not allow Hakuei to live if she came back. The Ren family had slowly come to understand why she had done what she'd done. They didn't like it, but her choice had made sense. Begrudgingly, they'd all admitted that if they were in her situation, they would have done the same thing for one of their siblings. Besides, she hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt. She had been stuck in a corner, and she had to make some kind of choice. It had taken some time, but the family themselves had been able to forgive her.

Which made it all the harder on Kouha that she was being forced (In his opinion) to leave.

Spartos was whispering angrily at Pisti, telling her to take it back. But Pisti ignored them, her cocky smirk making his temperature rise. Unconsciously, he reached for his sword. "You do anything to hurt our cousin," He threatened, venom slipping from every word. Pisti's arrogance dropped, insulted by his accusation.

"Sindria would never hurt a guest in our country," She insisted. Kouha's gaze didn't falter.

"Yeah, cause you did such a good job of proving that," He fought back, referencing to when Sinbad had used his djinn on Kougyoku to spy on Kou. Pisti barred her teeth.

"Why you," She also reached for her metal vessel, but luckily for both of them, Spartos stopped her.

Quickly he spoke up. "We formally apologize for bothering you," he hurried, speaking more to Koumei than to Kouha. If he tried speaking to Kouha, he knew he wouldn't get very far. "It was not our intention to come and cause a fight. Pisti," He glared down at her hoping she would add something helpful, but she kept her mouth shut. He sighed. "WILL be sending you an apology gift in due time." She shot up like a bullet and turned to face him in outrage.

"What? You want me to apologize to him?" She pointed at Kouha, who had let go of his djinn when he saw she was losing.

Drakkon nodded at her, teaming up with Spartos. "Yes, you will. Would you like us to get Sinbad to make it an order?" Drakkon didn't bother to whisper, hoping it would ease the tension of the other side. Pisti's mouth hung open while Kouha started to snicker behind them.

Koumei didn't think his brother's arrogance was helping anything. "That sounds reasonable, but you are not the only ones at fault here. Kouha will do the same as well." The smugness disappeared.

"You've got to be kidding me," He argued angrily. "I'm not apologizing for anything! I did nothing wrong!" Pisti scoffed in the background, but her teammates silenced her before she could add anything.

The look in Koumei's eyes told him it wasn't optional. Turning back to them he bowed respectfully. "We apologize for taking your time. Is there anything else we can do for you?" Both Spartos and Drakkon shook their heads, ignoring Pisti as she silently made a list of things she wanted to Kouha to do. The top included jumping into a volcano.

"No, thank you for asking. If you don't mind we must be heading off. Do enjoy the rest of your day." The two of them returned Koumei's bow before heading off, making sure that Pisti was following them. When they were a safe distance away, both of them turned on her. "Pisti," Darkkon hissed. "What was that?"

Pisti huffed and crossed her arms. "I was just giving that spoiled prince what he deserved. It seems like no one every talks back to that little boy!" She snuffed, even though he was both taller and older than her. She would never admit that.

Spartos shook his head in frustration. "Pisti, you crossed a line and you know it. Why can't we just go one day without you getting into a fight with the third prince, hm? You are able to get along with the other royals and members of the Kou court, what makes him so special?" Pisti opened her mouth to give some kind of good, thought out explanation, but nothing came out. She had none. The question that he gave her was the same one that she asked herself many times.

Why couldn't she just walk away? Why did she have to always use every chance she got to talk to him? Why was it that every time they met, she would focus on the new things that she learned about him. How his eyes would glow when he was trying to defend his country. How protective he was of his siblings and family. The way that he would stand tall with pride, even when he had nothing to fight for. How the words that people around him hardly affected him at all. How his band of misfits all seemed so happy and at place when they were around him, like they belonged. Even Aladdin seemed to enjoy his company, despite his arrogance and the fact that he sometimes braided his hair better than Pisti ever could. He had a fire inside of him, bright and not afraid of being seen. Why did she notice all of this? Why was she determined to learn more? This man who had just blatantly insulted her king and kingdom right in front of her. And yet her fingers were tingling with the thought of another chance to see him again. Why?

Did it really matter? He was her enemy. Nothing would change that in her mind.

Still. If they weren't…maybe she would take more time to figure that out.

Back over to Kouha, he wasn't having the best time either. "There is no way I'm going to apologize to her." Koumei shook his head, annoying Kouha more. "How could you even suggest such a thing? You know she started it! You heard what she said! If she couldn't take it than she shouldn't have said anything."

Annoyed, Koumei fought back, "It doesn't matter, you shouldn't have encouraged the fight! How many times do we have to go over this? Goodness Kouha, can't you just go one day without picking a fight with that one girl? It's just one person, ignore her if you need to!" Kouha tried to fight, but instead huffed and turned away. Ignoring her? Oh how he wished he could. It would make his life so much easier.

If only he could just leave her be. It would be best if he didn't always start a fight when she walked past. Things would be a picnic if he hadn't started to pay attention to the little details about her. How whenever it was a sunny day her hair would shine as if affected by magic. The loyalty she showed to a country she did not grow up in. That despite her physical build, she would to her best to help her friends in battle. That she held her best against the gossip of 'the young foolish general'. How she was able to feel so at place with her friends, pushing them to do things to try and help. Somehow Hakuei had grown to become her friend, even though she was so careless and constantly tried to pick out her outfits. She was full of joy, something that in all his years he'd never been able to completely grasp. But So what? What business was it of his? This woman who'd ridiculed and teased his brother and way of living. But despite that, he glanced over to see if there was the possibility she would come back for more. Why?

Did it really matter? She was his enemy. Nothing would change that in his mind.

Still. If they weren't…He would find out why he couldn't ignore her.

When both groups turned to leave, Pisti caught Kouha's eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, like they had at the beginning of the fight. But there was something different in the way they looked at each other that time. It wasn't distain, or preparation for a fight. It wasn't guilt for what they had said, even though they hadn't meant a lot of it. Admiration was far too generous for it. More like…Wonder. Wondering what the other one was really alike behind the insults that they threw at each other. Were they as different as they both claimed? Or could they have been more alike than they wanted to admit?

Both of them broke away. They were enemies. Until that changed, their curiosity would just have to wait.


End file.
